Self-Shielded Di/Dt Transformer for a Meter

ABSTRACT

A sensor includes a core, first and second windings, an integrating amplifier circuit and a DC balancing circuit. The first and second windings are wrapped around the core. The integrating amplifier circuit has a first input coupled to the first winding, and an output operably coupled to the second winding. The DC balancing circuit is operably coupled between the output of the integrating amplifier circuit and the first input of the integrating amplifier circuit.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/821,503, filed May 9, 2013, which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to electricity measurements, and more particularly, to current measurements such as those carried out in an electricity meter.

BACKGROUND

One of the goals of electricity metering is to accurately measure the use or consumption of electrical energy resources. With such measurements, the cost of generating and delivering electricity may be allocated among consumers in relatively logical manner. Another goal of electricity metering is help identify electrical energy generation and delivery needs. For example, cumulative electricity consumption measurements for a service area can help determine the appropriate sizing of transformers and other equipment.

Electricity metering often involves the measurement of consumed power or energy in the form of watts or watt-hours. To this end, meters include voltage sensors and current sensors that detect, respectively, the voltage and current delivered to the load. In most cases, the purpose of the voltage sensor is to provide a measurement signal that represents a scaled version of the voltage waveform delivered to the load. Similarly, a current sensor provides a measurement signal that represents a scaled version of the current waveform delivered to the load.

The current measurement in a utility meter can be challenging because a high accuracy is required, and common current sensor technologies can be susceptible to various sources of error. Present metering technologies involve current transformers, or CTs. Existing CT designs are prone to saturation and may distort causing error especially in a DC magnetic field or with a half wave rectified load. To compensate for such errors, additional circuitry is often required, which increases costs. For example, in a CT, it is important that certain windings around the CT core have the exact same number of turns. This requirement makes the manufacture of the specialized metering CT complex and expensive.

There is a need, therefore, for a current sensor arrangement that favorably improves upon one or more of shortcomings of existing transformers, for example, by providing sufficient accuracy under various circumstances while reducing production cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention addresses the above-describe needs, as well as others, by providing a sensor that may be used in a utility meter that includes features described herein.

A first embodiment is a sensor that includes a core, first and second windings, an integrating amplifier circuit and a DC balancing circuit. The first and second windings are wrapped around the core. The integrating amplifier circuit has a first input coupled to the first winding, and an output operably coupled to the second winding. The DC balancing circuit is operably coupled between the output of the integrating amplifier circuit and the first input of the integrating amplifier circuit.

Another embodiment is a sensor that includes a non-magnetic core, first and second windings, an integrating amplifier circuit and a DC balancing circuit. The first and second windings are wound around the core. The second winding operably is coupled to influence a current in the first winding. The integrating amplifier circuit has a first input coupled to the first winding, and an output operably coupled to the second winding. The DC balancing circuit is operably coupled between the output of the integrating amplifier circuit and the first input of the integrating amplifier circuit.

Another embodiment is an arrangement for use in an electricity meter that includes a current coil configured to provide current to a load, and a sensor similar to that described above.

The above described features and advantages, as well as others, will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of an exemplary meter that may be used in one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic block diagram of an exemplary current sensor according to a first embodiment of the invention that may be used in the meter of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary embodiment of a coil that may be used in the current sensor of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a polyphase electricity meter 10 in which an arrangement according the invention is implemented. Referring to FIG. 1 specifically, the meter 10 is an apparatus for measuring energy consumption that includes a scaling circuit 110, an analog-to-digital conversion (“ADC”) circuit 114, a processing circuit 116, a communication circuit 118, an optional display 120 and a data store 112. As will be discussed below, the scaling circuit 110 includes at least one current sensor 200 that operates as a self-shield di/dt sensor according to at least one embodiment of the present invention. All of the elements listed above are preferably supported by a meter housing 113, which may take a plurality of known forms. The communication circuit 118, which is also optional, may be disposed within an interior of the meter housing 113 like the other devices, or may be affixed to the outside of the meter housing 113.

In the embodiment described herein, the scaling circuit 110 and the ADC circuit 114 are collectively arranged to generate digital signals representative of line voltage waveforms V_(A), V_(B), V_(C) for each of three phases A, B, C of a four-wire delta electrical system and other digital signals representative of at least three of the four line current waveforms I_(A), I_(B), I_(C) and I_(N) of the four-wire delta electrical system. As will be discussed below, however, the meter 10 may readily be configured for a three-wire delta electrical service, as well as other types of electrical service. The digital signals are typically sequences of digital samples representative of an instantaneous voltage or current measurement on one phase with respect to either neutral or another phase. Circuits capable of generating such signals are known in the art.

The processing circuit 116 is configured to calculate one or more energy consumption values based on the digital signals. The energy consumption values may be communicated to a remote device using the communication circuit 118, displayed using the display 120, stored in the data store 112, or preferably some combination of the foregoing. In accordance with the embodiments described herein, the processing circuit 116 is further operable to perform any or all of the energy consumption related calculations typical for an electricity meter.

In a further detailed description of the meter 10 of FIG. 1, the scaling circuit 110 comprises one or more current sensors 200 and voltage sensors 124. The voltage sensors 124, which may, for example, include voltage dividers, generate a scaled down version of the voltage waveform present on phases of the power lines 12. The current sensors 200 are circuits and elements that generate a voltage or current signal that is a scaled down version of the current waveform present on the phases of the power lines 12. In accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention, each of the current sensors 200, one for each phase A, B and C, may have the structure shown in FIG. 2.

The ADC circuit 114 includes one or more analog-to-digital converters that convert the scaled measurement signals into digital voltage and current measurement signals. Many circuits capable of generating digital voltage and circuit waveform signals are well known in the art. Suitable examples of analog to digital conversion circuits having such capabilities are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,374,188; U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,159; U.S. Pat. No. 6,121,158 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,933,004, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. Moreover, the ADC circuit 114 may readily be a part of an integrated metering chip package, as will be discussed below.

The processing circuit 116 is a device that employs one or more processing devices such as microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, discrete digital circuits and/or combinations thereof. As mentioned above, the processing circuit 116 is operable to generate energy consumption data based on the digital signals. In one example, the processing circuit 116 generates watt-hour information based on an accumulation of products of contemporaneous voltage and current samples. For example, true watt-hours for a particular phase may be calculated as the vector product of the current waveform and the voltage waveform. This vector product may be carried out with sampled voltage (V_(n)) and sampled current (I_(n)) by the formula:

Whrs=ΣV _(n) *I _(n).  (3)

where Whrs is an accumulated energy value (i.e. watt-hours) for a time frame from a starting time n₀ to a time corresponding to n.

Various processing circuits operable to generate energy consumption data from digital voltage and digital current measurement signals are well known in the art. Suitable examples of such circuits are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,374,188; U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,159; U.S. Pat. No. 6,121,158 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,933,004. However, in one preferred embodiment, the processing circuit is (or includes) a processing element of a metering integrated circuit chip such as the Teridian 71M6533 measurement chip (available from Maxim). In that embodiment, both the ADC circuit 114 and the processing circuit 116 are disposed within the same semiconductor package.

The processing circuit 116 is further operable to store the plurality of energy consumption values in the data store 112. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 116 may store energy consumption values for each of plurality of time periods, in order to allow analysis of energy usage at different times of day, days of the week or month, or even seasonally. The storage of consumption indexed to time periods is often referred to in the industry as “load profiling”. The data store 112 may suitably be a random access memory, EEPROM, other memory, or a combination of several types of memory. In still other embodiments, the data store 112 may include a circular buffer, FIFO device, or other memory that stores data in the order in which it is received. Other known methods may be used. In at least some embodiments, the data store 112 includes memory located within the integrated package that houses the processing circuit 116. The data store 112 also includes a software program that is executed by the processing circuit 116 to perform the operations of the processing circuit 116 described herein.

The communication circuit 118 is a device that is in some embodiments configured to communicate data between the metering unit 12 and one or more remote devices. In a system such as that shown in FIG. 1, the communication circuit 118 would be operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a data collection system of a utility service provider. Several of such systems are known. The utility service provider then uses the collected data to generate billing information and/or data forecasting information as is known in the art. To this end, the communication circuit 118 may suitably include a radio, a telephone modem, a power line carrier modem, or other known communication device configured for use with utility meters. Radios may be used that operate in the 100 MHz to 1 GHz range. However, other devices may operate in the kHz or low MHZ range.

In addition or in the alternative, the communication circuit 118 is configured to communicate with a locally coupled device, such as a reed switch, portable computing device, or other device. The communication circuit 118 may include an optical or electrical data port, not shown, for this purpose.

The meter display 120, which is optional, may be a digital display such as a liquid crystal display. It will be appreciated that the exact nature of the display is not particularly important to the implementation of the invention. Nevertheless, there is an advantage of including at least some display capabilities. LCD displays, moreover, have been found to have a particularly advantageous set of qualities for use in electronic meters.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a current sensor 200 according to the invention as well as a black-box representation (i.e. equivalent circuit) of a single phase of a power line 12. The power line 12 equivalent circuit is represented herein as a current source I1, a high impedance to ground resistor R1, and a coil L1. The coil L1 represents a current coil normally found in a utility meter that carries all (or a large proportion) of the current delivered to a customer load on the power line 12.

In this embodiment, the current sensor includes a first secondary winding L2, a second secondary winding L3, both of which are wrapped around a core, not shown on FIG. 2. The core may be permeability of greater than 1, as in an iron-based core, or could have permeability of approximately 1, such as in a Rogowski coil. In general, the windings L1, L2 and L3 are arranged in a transformer type arrangement. To this end, the windings L2 and L3 may cooperate with a suitable core to form a toroid (wrapped around a toroidal core) through which the first winding, often a single turn winding, passes. However, the transformer arrangement may take other forms.

By way of example, FIG. 3 shows a representative diagram of the windings L1, L2 and L3 arranged as a transformer 302 for sensing current on the power line 12. In this embodiment, the windings L2 and L3 are arranged as a Rogowski coil 300 that may be used in a first embodiment of the arrangement of FIG. 2. The winding L1 is arranged a meter current coil 304. The meter current coil 304 is a conductive bar or other conductive element that carries the load current of the power line 12. The Rogowski coil 300 and the current coil 304 collectively form the transformer 302 having the windings L1, L2 and L3 of FIG. 3. The Rogowski coil 300 forms part of the sensor 200 of FIG. 2.

The Rogowski coil 300 includes a non-magnetic core 316 around which is wrapped the bifilar windings L2 and L3. The core 316 may take any suitable form but preferably has a central opening 318 through which the current coil 304 passes, such that the windings L2, L3 substantially surround the current coil 304. The current coil 304 forms the primary winding L1 of the transformer 302, and the windings L2, L3 of the Rogowski coil 300 form the secondary windings of the transformer 302. It will be appreciated that the geometry of the current coil 304 and the Rogowski coil 300 may take other suitable physical forms in the transformer 302 for current sensing purposes. As discussed above, some embodiments may even employ a current coil having a magnetic core.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the sensor 200 also includes an integrator 202, a current buffer 204 and a DC stabilization circuit 206. In this embodiment, the sensor 202 includes a shunt resistor R3 to allow the output current measurement signal Vout to be a voltage waveform readily detectable by standard voltage-sensing A/D converters, such as the A/D converter 114 of FIG. 1.

As discussed above, the sensor 200 in one embodiment features a single core, for example, the core 316 of FIG. 3, which is wound with the windings L2, L3. The single core preferably has an opening (e.g. it is a toroidal core) through which the primary conductor L1, which is loaded with current to be measured, passes. It will be appreciated that while the core may be anything from air to a high permeability material, a higher permeability provides greater sensitivity.

The secondary winding L2 comprises the di/dt sense winding of the sensor 200, and may suitably have a turns ratio of 100-2000 with respect to the primary winding. The secondary winding L3 forms the ratio winding of the device, and may suitably have a turns ratio of 400 to 4000, or another value. In general, the turns ratio of the winding L3 depends on the range of the ADC circuit 114 and the upper range of the input current. In other words, the turns ratio of the secondary winding L3 should be such that it reduces the highest expected input current, plus 20%, to a level at which the output voltage Vout is within the range of the ADC circuit 114.

The integrator 202 includes an operational amplifier U1, a capacitor C1 and a resistor R2. The integrator 202 is configured to provide a 90° phase shift from input to output, and may take other suitable forms in other embodiments. To this end, the operational amplifier U1 includes an inverting input 212, a non-inverting input 214, and an output 216. The output 216 has a feedback path through the capacitor C1 and the serially connected resistor R1. In this embodiment, the current buffer 204 is coupled in series between the output 216 of the operational amplifier U1 and the serially connected capacitor C1 and resistor R1.

In general, the op-amp U1 is configured to sense the di/dt voltages off of the winding L2 and provide a drive current to the winding L3 in order to force the flux in the coil to zero and cancel the voltage at its own inverting input 212.

The current buffer 204 in this embodiment is a circuit that is configured to boost the current drive capability of the low offset opamp circuit. To this end, the current buffer 204 includes a current buffer input 218 and a current buffer output 220. The current buffer input 218 is operably coupled to receive the output current from the output 216 of the operational amplifier U1, and is operably coupled to provide a buffered drive current to its output 220. The current buffer 204 in this embodiment comprises transistors Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, capacitors C3, C5, and resistors R5, R11 configured as a low cost current buffer.

More specifically, the transistor Q2 is a PNP BJT having a base connected to the input 218, a collector coupled to a lower rail bias voltage VEE, and an emitter. The transistor Q4 is an NPN BJT having a based connected to the input 218, a collector coupled to a higher rail bias voltage VCC, and an emitter. The capacitor C3, which may suitably be 1 μF, is coupled between the input 218 and the emitter of the transistor Q2. Analogously, the capacitor C5, which may also be 1 μF, is coupled between the input 218 and the emitter of the transistor Q4. The transistor Q1 is a PNP BJT having a base coupled to the emitter of the transistor Q4, a collector coupled to the lower rail voltage VEE, and an emitter coupled to the output 220. The transistor Q3 is a NPN BJT having a base coupled to the emitter of the transistor Q2, a collector coupled to the higher rail voltage VCC, and an emitter coupled to the output 220. The resistor R5, which may suitably be a 10 kΩ resistor, is coupled from collector to base of the transistor Q3. Similarly, the resistor R11, which may also be a 10 kΩ resistor, is coupled from collector to base of the transistor Q1. It will be appreciated that other current drives may be used as the current buffer 204.

In any event, the output 220 of the current buffer 204 is operably coupled to provide the buffered current to a first terminal of ratio winding L3.

The DC stabilization circuit 206 comprises the resistors R4, R6, R8. The resistors R4, R6 are serially coupled between the output 216 of the op-amp U1 (via the current buffer 204) and the inverting input 212 of the op-amp U1. More specifically, in this embodiment, the resistors R4, R6 are coupled between the output 220 of the current buffer 204 and the inverting input 212 of the op-amp U1. Each of the resistors R4, R6 may suitably have a resistance of 5 MΩ. The resistor R8 is coupled between the di/dt winding L2 and the inverting input 212 of the op-amp 206. The resistor R8 may suitably have a resistance of 10 MΩ.

In general, the stabilization circuit 206 provides DC stabilization to the circuit. To this end, the stabilization circuit 206 provides a DC resistive path back to the non-inverting input 210 of the op-amp 206. Without out it, the op-amp 206 output would drive to the output rail of the op-amp. The resistor R8 improves DC offset to increase common mode range. In particular, with the combination of R4 and R6, there needs to be an impedance to the reference point, or the signal would be shorted by the sense winding 210. The impedance of R8 compared to the input impedance of the op-amp 206 is relatively small.

The sensor 200 also includes a DC isolation capacitor C2 coupled between the output 216 of the op-amp U1 (via the current buffer 204) and the first terminal 222 of the ratio winding L3. In series with the capacitor C2 is a resistor R7 of 1Ω. The resistor R7 adjusts the output impedance to stabilize the network. In this embodiment, the resistor R3 is used as a sense resistance which effectively converts the output current from the winding L3 to a corresponding output voltage Vout. The sense resistor R3 may suitably be 1Ω in this embodiment. The Vout output is operably coupled to the ADC 114 of FIG. 1.

In this embodiment, the current measurement signal Vout is biased to an all-positive voltage using a voltage source V3 of 3.3 volts. The 3.3 voltage reference VREF is provided as the reference voltage connection to the winding L2, the non-inverting input of the op-amp U1, and the reference for the sense resistor R3. This biasing reference voltage allows the measurement signal, which represents that AC current waveform, to always be a positive value, even through the negative swings of the AC cycle. In other words, instead of the measurement signal ranging from −1.5V to 1.5V peak to peak, for example, the Vout signal would range from 0.1 to 3.1 volts peak to peak.

In operation, the primary current on the winding L1 induces a voltage (Vsense) on the winding L2 proportional to K di/dt, where K is a constant. “K” is a function of temperature, time, geometry, and core permeability. The voltage Vsense is sensed by the op-amp U1. The op-amp U1 will then drive a current, via the buffer 204, through the winding L3 to drive the flux of the coil to zero to reduce the difference of the voltage sensed at the inputs 212 and 214 to zero. However the current produced will be proportional to the input current (from L1) by the exact turns ratio between L1 and L3, due to the coupling of L1, L2 and L3.

The sensor 200 in normal operation will exhibit a higher accuracy over a larger dynamic range than a traditional CT, because the non-magnetic core does not have undersirable excitation currents. If, instead of a Rogowski coil, the windings L2 and L3 are wrapped around a magnetic core, then Vsense will be amplified by the core material, resulting in greater sensitivity. Such a device will be immune to AC fields unlike an embodiment employing a Rogowski coil. Moreover, because of the integrating amplifier circuit 202, the device will be immune to DC magnetic fields and DC currents unlike a traditional current transformer. Ratio accuracies better than 0.05% over the entire range are typically achievable. The current buffer 204 allows for a low driving op-amp, thereby reducing costs.

In the case where an external DC field or current causes total saturation, the device would be reduced to a sensor that is not unlike a traditional Rogowski coil. However, the invention still provides improvements (as it would if the permeability was 1): immunity to error due to shifts in inductance, due to external influences, and due to aging, and due to primary vs. coil window position.

In addition a single coil could be used with multiple primaries with no additional error like a traditional CT. Rogowski coils exhibit an imbalanced transfer function due to the mutual inductances of multiple primaries not being equal.

The above-describe embodiments provide:

-   -   1. Immunity to near AC Fields under normal operation (Core         permeability>>1 only)     -   2. High DC Tolerance due to near magnetic fields or half wave         rectified loads     -   3. Higher accuracy when compared to a traditional CT or Rogowski         Coil     -   4. Immunity to fluctuations in self/mutual inductance due to         temperature, aging etc. . . .     -   5. Low cost     -   6. Immunity to saturation within common mode range of active         circuit, recovers quickly if range exceeded.     -   7. Small and light weight     -   8. Inexpensive materials     -   9. Reduction in component count.     -   10. Multiple primaries may be measured without imbalance, unlike         a Rogowski Coil.         It will be appreciated that the embodiment of FIG. 2, or a         modification thereof, may be used in a form 2S meter without         measurement imbalance between the current coils, unlike a         Rogowski Coil which has been used in the prior art. A Rogowski         coil's mutual inductance changes with the position of the         primary relative to the center of the Rogowski coil which may         result in imbalanced current measurements when multiple         primaries are used due to the heterogeneous nature of the         windings.

This invention could be used in any meter, however meters that require DC immunity and where high accuracy is required (such a 0.1% accuracy class if approved by ANSI) are ideal cases.

Some notable features include the DC stabilization circuit 206, which includes the very high impedance (e.g 5000 k-ohm) series connected feedback resistors R4 and R8, as well as the U1 input resistance R8 of 10000 k-ohm. In addition, the low-cost buffer 204 provides cost savings over more complex designs. 

We claim:
 1. A sensor, comprising: a) a core around which are wound first and second windings: b) an integrating amplifier circuit having a first input coupled to the first winding, and an output operably coupled to the second winding; and c) a DC balancing circuit operably coupled between the output of the integrating amplifier circuit and the first input of the integrating amplifier circuit.
 2. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the integrating amplifier circuit includes an amplifier having the first input and the output, and an integrating feedback circuit comprising a resistor and a capacitor.
 3. The sensor of claim 2, further comprising a current buffer provided at the output of the integrating amplifier circuit.
 4. The sensor of claim 1, further comprising a sense resistor operably coupled between the second winding and ground.
 5. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the second winding is operably couple to influence current in the first winding.
 6. The sensor of claim 1, further comprising a positive bias voltage source operably coupled to provide a positive bias voltage between the first winding and the integrating amplifier circuit.
 7. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the first winding and the second winding are bifilar windings.
 8. A sensor, comprising: a) a non-magnetic core around which are wound first and second windings, the second winding operably coupled to influence the first winding; b) an integrating amplifier circuit having a first input coupled to the first winding, and an output operably coupled to the second winding; and c) a DC balancing circuit operably coupled between the output of the integrating amplifier circuit and the first input of the integrating amplifier circuit.
 9. The sensor of claim 8, wherein the integrating amplifier circuit includes an amplifier having the first input and the output, and an integrating feedback circuit comprising a resistor and a capacitor.
 10. The sensor of claim 9, further comprising a current buffer provided at the output of the integrating amplifier circuit.
 11. The sensor of claim 8, further comprising a sense resistor operably coupled between the second winding and ground.
 12. The sensor of claim 8, further comprising a positive bias voltage source operably coupled to provide a positive bias voltage between the first winding and the integrating amplifier circuit.
 13. The sensor of claim 8, wherein the first winding and the second winding are bifilar windings.
 14. An arrangement for use in an electricity meter, comprising: a) a current coil configured to provide current to a load; b) a core around which are wound first and second windings, the second winding operably coupled to influence the first winding, wherein the current coil, the core and at least one of the first and second windings form a transformer; c) an integrating amplifier circuit having a first input coupled to the first winding, and an output operably coupled to the second winding; and d) a DC balancing circuit operably coupled between the output of the integrating amplifier circuit and the first input of the integrating amplifier circuit.
 15. The arrangement of claim 14, wherein the core includes a central opening, and wherein the current coil passes through the central opening.
 16. The arrangement of claim 15, wherein the core is non-magnetic.
 17. The arrangement of claim 16, wherein the first and second windings are bifilar windings.
 18. The arrangement of claim 17, further comprising an A/D converter operably coupled to the second winding. 